R. Douglas Leonard Jr. Appointed to Lead ANAB as Executive Director

Warren Merkel to Join as ANAB VP, Policy

The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) is pleased to announce that R. Douglas Leonard Jr. has been appointed as executive director of its wholly owned subsidiary, the ANSI National Accreditation Board (ANAB), effective November 21. ANAB is the largest multi-disciplinary ISO/IEC 17011 accreditation body in North America, with comprehensive signatory status across the multilateral recognition arrangements of the International Accreditation Forum (IAF) and International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC).

As executive director, Leonard will provide the strategic leadership to position ANAB at the forefront of international accreditation, assuring the integrity of services, advancing ANAB’s vision and mission, and striving for sustained growth and diversification.

A veteran of the conformity assessment community, Leonard has served as co-interim executive director of ANAB since December 2021 and in the capacity of ANAB vice president of product, inspection, laboratory, and related activities since 2015. Previously, he was president and chief operating officer of Laboratory Accreditation Bureau (L-A-B), where he forged L-A-B into a successful, recognized accreditation body from the ground up. Among multiple leadership and volunteer positions, Leonard serves as ANAB’s delegate to ILAC, subcommittee chair for ASTM E36.6 on Accreditation Bodies, lead evaluator for the Asia Pacific Accreditation Cooperation (APAC), and evaluator for the Inter-Americas Accreditation Cooperation (IAAC). He represents accreditation bodies on the board of the Independent Laboratory Institute (ILI) and has also served two terms as the president of the National Cooperation for Laboratory Accreditation (NACLA).

“Doug has long been an essential and valued member of ANAB’s leadership team and is very active in the global conformity assessment community,” said S. Joe Bhatia, President and CEO of ANSI. “He is committed to delivering the highest level of accreditation services in order to bring trust and confidence to the global market. With his in-depth experience, skill at building relationships with domestic and international conformity assessment stakeholders, and effective leadership, I am confident that Doug will capably lead ANAB into the future.”

ANAB also announced that Warren Merkel will join ANAB as vice president—policy, effective November 21. In this newly created role, Merkel will set a strategic direction for policy development and implementation, and advise the ANAB senior leadership team on the development and implementation of policy positions, goals, and strategies.

Since 2015, Merkel has served as the chief of standards services in the National Institute of Standards and Technology Standards Coordination Office. Programs under Merkel’s responsibility include engagement with government agencies on standards and conformity assessment issues, and operation of the World Trade Organization Technical Barriers to Trade Inquiry Point for the United States. Merkel also served as co-convener of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Committee for Conformity Assessment (CASCO) Working Group 44 on the revision of ISO/IEC 17025, General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories. Prior to his latest position at NIST, Merkel was chief of the National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program (NVLAP) at NIST from 2003 to 2006. After leaving NIST for six years to teach chemistry, he returned to serve as chief of NVLAP from 2012 to 2015.

“With Doug at the helm and Warren bringing his vast knowledge and experience in policy development and implementation, I am excited to see ANAB reach new heights, bringing integrity and value to the global market,” continued Bhatia.

About ANAB

The ANSI National Accreditation Board (ANAB), a wholly owned subsidiary of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), is the largest multi-disciplinary ISO/IEC 17011 accreditation body in North America, with comprehensive signatory status across the multilateral recognition arrangements of the International Accreditation Forum (IAF) and International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC). The ANAB accreditation portfolio includes management systems certification bodies, calibration and testing labs, product certification bodies, personnel credentialing organizations, forensic test and calibration service providers, inspection bodies, police crime units, greenhouse gas validation and verification bodies, reference material producers, and proficiency test providers. For more information, visit www.anab.org.

About ANSI

The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) is a private non-profit organization whose mission is to enhance both the global competitiveness of U.S. business and the U.S. quality of life by promoting and facilitating voluntary consensus standards and conformity assessment systems, and safeguarding their integrity. Its membership is comprised of businesses, professional societies and trade associations, standards developers, government agencies, and consumer and labor organizations.
The Institute represents and serves the diverse interests of more than 270,000 companies and organizations and 30 million professionals worldwide. ANSI is the official U.S. representative to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and, via the U.S. National Committee, the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). For more information, visit www.ansi.org.